TP Mazembe End 40 Years of Hurt

Imitation is the highest form of flattery and UEFA will know they’ve done something truly remarkable, when football federations around the globe start naming competitions Europa League. For the time being though, the Champions League remains the blue print for glamorous international club competitions. On Saturday the African Champions League final second leg was contested between Nigeria’s Heartland FC and DR Congo’s TP Mazembe, ending the stranglehold Tunisian and Egyptian clubs had on the competition in previous seasons.

Heartland pulled off the feat of reaching the final as absolute Champions League beginners, after qualifying for the competition for the first time as runner ups of the Nigerian Premier League. Mazembe on the other hand have been Champions League regulars and reached the semi-final as recently as 2002. The club enjoyed its’ most successful period in different times and under a different name (”TP Englebert”) though. The club reached the Champions Cup final four years in a row between 1967 and 1970 – winning it in 1967 and 1968 – and became the first African club to successfully defend the title. Following a 2-1 defeat in the first leg in Owerri / Nigeria, spirits were still up for Mazembe supporters, as they hoped the away goal could prove to be crucial in winning the first Champions League trophy in over 40 years.

And so Lubumbashi readied itself for the decisive second leg. Local Politicians used the opportunity for a bit of free publicity. Cartoonists fought the good fight by poking fun at Heartland. It also never hurts to cash in with a fresh and catchy TP Mazembe song either of course.

The match unfolded as you would expect. Heartland were happy to sit back and defend their lead, hoping to kill the tie on a counter attack, while Mazembe tried to overturn the deficit. For about 73 minutes Heartland’s strategy worked out well enough, but then their defender Ikechukwu ThankGod headed into his own goal, to put Mazembe in front both in the match and in the tie (2-2) thanks to the away goal rule. I presume Congolese headline writers will have been thankful for this particular turn of events. Heartland couldn’t recover and Mazembe put their name on the trophy for a third time.

Mazembe can now look forward to about $1.5m in prize money and the chance to take on Barcelona in next month’s FIFA World Club Cup, which is also worth at least another $0.5m. Mazembe’s captain Tresor Mputu Mabi meanwhile used the opportunity to remind Europe that he is open to job offers.

I couldn’t find any match highlights so far, but the following video at least gives you a glimpse at the trophy celebration and a replay of the decisive goal. So, congratulations TP Mazembe and chins up Heartland.

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Category: Africa